Highland Games Celebrate Rich History - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

Highland Games Celebrate Rich History

For Edinboro's fighting Scots, the Scottish festival is a point of pride every year.

Traditional food, music, and dress are a few of the ways visitors bring the vibrant culture from overseas, to our community.

"For me personally it's my heritage," said Leah Froehlich, a student at Edinboro. She said since she can't go to Scotland, it's nice to have this in her back yard.

Of course you don't have to be Scottish to enjoy the festival. One event that's fun for everyone to watch is the Highland Games.

The games are derived from thousands of years of Scottish history, and represent the warrior class of ancient times.

The competition at Edinboro draws professional athletes from all over to test their strength at age old skills.

Men launched 150-pound tree trunks in the caber toss, always a crowd favorite, and hurled rocks shot put- style in the stone throw.

Clearly, it takes some muscle.

"It includes a lot of lifting and a lot of throwing," said professional competitor Jeremy Gillinghan. 

For these guys, part of the thrill is getting the crowd involved. They make sure audiences know about rivalries on the field, and records are often broken at competitions like this one.

There's one more tradition that goes hand in hand with the games; the kilt.

"The kilt is required when you compete," said competitor Lou Iannone.

The Scottish Festival runs through Sunday, September 9.